7 minutes
Adult learners are being overlooked. It’s no exaggeration. A recent Government report showed a 14.8% drop in adults taking essential skill courses – and it’s because they don’t know where to find them.
As the Association of Colleges Annual Conference and Exhibition prepares to return for 2026, it’s an influential event for colleges across the UK, and one that’s shining a light on the importance of adult education.
In this blog, we’re delving into how marketing can reach those that are being overlooked, because learning is not just about school leavers, and often, the same marketing research and techniques are needed for each.
While the UK Government's statistic of 365,000 adult learners in 2025/26 seems like a lot, there’s room for more – with many college homepages not mentioning adult learning at all.
Know your audience
With all college marketing, it should begin with knowing your audience. Through market research, Google Analytics, and behavioural targeting, see where your audience spends its time and who they engage with, so you can decide where to advertise with confidence.
There are many reasons why adults may consider colleges:
They want to explore a hobby course
They’re looking to develop their career, either with a promotion or career switch
They’re ready to gain qualifications they may have not gotten the first time
They’re hoping to return to learning after time at home raising a family
And many more depending on your local region’s demographic make-up
By splitting advertising by course type rather than running one general ‘adult learning’ campaign, you can reach your audience, whatever their aspirations.
The opportunity
We’ve all heard the news. As of spring 2027, restrictions will be put in place for under-16s on social media platforms, and while we’re unpacking this an upcoming blog, there’s a silver lining – colleges can put more focus and budget into reaching adult learners.
Another opportunity tackles a common problem we’ve seen while working with education clients: homepage visibility. A simple yet impactful opportunity is to make adult education easy to find, allowing adults visiting the site to feel welcomed, not out of place.
The message: what adults want to know
Whether it’s a paid ad, organic social content, or a web page, users want to know the answers to their questions, without the fluff: is adult education truly worth their time? Adult learners will often lack confidence in returning to education, with feelings of imposter syndrome that need to be addressed and relieved.
Here are some ways to engage adult learners:
Know their pain points and speak to them directly – pain points are an individual’s specific problem or unmet need, such as financial strains or time constraints. Address them clearly and increase peace of mind.
Showcase the benefits and support – For web pages and advertisements, make the efficiency and comfortability clear, with opportunities from flexible learning schedules to financial aid and student support.
Add value with helpful extras – Do you offer English qualifications? Showing that courses can be taken alongside an English qualification opens doors adult learners may not have thought possible. It’s the same for studying from home for adults with families. By showing your audience that you understand them, their problems, and the workarounds, you make them far more likely to enquire.
Where to advertise
Advertising comes back to knowing the audience of adult learners you’re targeting and placing yourself where they already are. This reduces the legwork needed on their side and builds brand personality and authority that stick.
Here’s where we see adult learners spending their time, and how you can use it:
Paid digital
Google Performance Max – uses AI and behavioural signals to show your ads across Google, YouTube and beyond to the people most likely to enquire (ideal for adults who research big decisions).
Facebook ads – lets you target adults by interest, life stage and location, so you can run separate ads for hobby learners, career changers and more.
Retargeting – reminds people who’ve already looked at a course while they’re still weighing it up, because going back to learning is rarely a quick decision.
TikTok – brings creative courses to life through short videos and real adult student stories, especially for subjects like art, hair and beauty, or music.
Snapchat – reaches adults in their twenties and thirties who’ve used the app since their teens and are now looking to improve qualifications.
ChatGPT ads – puts your college in front of adults while they’re asking AI for advice on retraining or returning to learning.
Being found in search
SEO – adults often start by searching on Google, so showing up in those results builds trust and brings visitors to your website.
AEO and GEO – AI tools now give quick answers instead of sending people to websites. Adding answers to common questions on your website makes it more likely to be featured.
Out and about
High-footfall locations – be seen in places adults visit often, such as shopping centres and supermarkets, building familiarity so digital ads hit harder.
Radio – reaches adults during daily routines, from the commute to the chores, with a strong local reach that feels personal.
Video on demand (VOD) – including Sky Digital or cinema advertising.
Where we come in
At Bluestorm, we’re a full-service marketing agency with education clients across the UK who are actively focusing on adult learners. With existing relationships with advertising platforms and experts in everything SEO and GEO, we provide a tailored approach for each client depending on budget and targets.
Reaching adult learners takes more than a single campaign. It’s about understanding who your audience is, what’s holding them back and where they’re most likely to see your message. That’s where we come in:
We start with your audience – with audience research, we help you understand who your adult learners are and what motivates them, so every course is promoted to the right people, with the right message.
We bring every channel together – we’re already running multi-channel campaigns across paid social, search and offline advertising. With everything done in-house, messaging stays consistent, so each ad becomes a journey.
We stay ahead of the platforms – with our existing relationships with platforms across Meta, YouTube, Snapchat and more, we keep on top of features, trends and changes, so your campaigns make the most of new opportunities.
We build websites that pay off – With the advertisements leading adult learners to your website, we’ll make sure they’re rewarded, with adult learning clearly featured on the homepage and given its own dedicated section.
Explore the results Boston College saw with our website rebuild.
Ready to make adult learning a priority? Get in touch – we’re happy to help!
